KAILUA NEIGHBORHOOD BOARD NO. 31

KAILUA WATER QUALITY PSPHCD SUBCOMMITTEE
MEETING AGENDA
Thursday, July 10, 2025
5:30 pm to 7:00 pm
In-person at the Kailua District Park District Meeting Room with ZOOM option:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89141000521?pwd=la544bp0VnMbBaag9v9k17rFsctRKb.1
Meeting ID: 891 4100 0521
Passcode: 148890

Chair: Levani Lipton levani.knb@gmail.com Members: Kelli Ann Kobayashi, Kate Righter, Steve Trecker, and Gary Weller.

1. Call to Order

2. Approval of Minutes

3. Announcements:
a. Stormwater BMP Workshop. July 17-18th, 2025. For more information, visit https://honolulustormwaterworkshops.vfairs.com
b. Sign up for water quality alerts on the City & County of Honolulu’s new “HNL Alert” App. https://www.honolulu.gov/dem/hnl-alert/
c. Kailua Shoreline Water Quality Data – Honolulu City and County Department of Environmental Services Wastewater Treatment Plant operates a water quality data dashboard. Visit: https://www8.honolulu.gov/env/kailua-water-quality-data/.
d. Sign up for brown water advisories and alerts with Hawaii State Department of Health: https://eha-cloud.doh.hawaii.gov/cwb/#!/landing . Brown water frequently occurs after storm events. For your safety, it is recommended not to enter the waterways, ocean, or streams if they are brown or after a storm. If you have an open wound or cut, avoid the water until you are healed.
e. “FOLLOW THE DROP” is a stormwater mobile app that collects data on how much stormwater is being generated on a property and provides optimum types and sizes of stormwater capture solutions. Schedule a free rainwater assessment at https://rainwaterhawaii.com to learn how you can use the app to minimize stormwater runoff from your property and reduce pollution entering our waterways.
f. Monitor water quality results along Kailua beach with Surfrider Foundation’s Blue Water Task Force. Visit https://oahu.surfrider.org/bwtf . Look for trends. If a particular spot consistently tests high for bacteria or poor water quality – it is best to avoid the area until the water has cleared.

4. Resident and Community Concerns

5. Old Business:
a. Storm drain maintenance
b. Culvert and channel cleaning maintenance schedule
c. Bacterial effluent exceedance in Kailua Bay & protocols
d. Stormwater Utility (now SWOOSH)
e. BMP violations
f. Mangrove removal
g. Cesspool conversions in Kailua
h. Kapa’a Quarry impacts on water quality
i. Street sweeping schedule & parking restrictions for pollution reduction
j. Kaelepulu Pond TMDL status
k. Street sweeping

6. New Business
a. Discussion about P.I.G. research questions relating to Kailua’s water quality

7. Ongoing Discussion:
a. What pukas have you noticed in the government response to addressing pollution in our waterways?
b. What are your ideas for solving these challenges?
c. Sustainability of our natural resources: What steps can we take now to keep Kailua Bay and waterways thriving in the future?
d. Who are our allies in this effort
e. What community outreach and events are happening to promote awareness?
f. Who are the agencies and nonprofits who malama the ocean and waterways?
g. What steps can the public take to minimize pollution and maintain small footprints?

8. Adjournment

Kailua Water Quality PHPSCD Subcommittee
June 2025 Meeting Report
Chair, Levani Lipton

1. The subcommittee hybrid meeting was held in-person and via Zoom on June 12, 2025, chaired by Levani Lipton and attended by committee members Kelli Ann Kobayashi, Kate Righter, Steve Trecker, and Gary Weller and multiple residents.

2. NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) Permit:
a. A presentation was given by Bob Bourke, biologist and former resident of Enchanted Lake on general information about the MS4 NPDES permit.
b. The MS4 permit is issued by the Hawaii State Department of Health.
c. MS4s NPDES permits are required to develop a SWMP (stormwater management plan) that outlines the implementation, operation, and maintenance of a permittee’s MS4. Essentially, this is what the City says it will do to keep pollutants out of the water.
d. The permits requires controls to reduce the discharge of pollutants into public waters to the maximum extent practicable (MEP).
e. During the first year of the permit the City must develop a plan (SWMP) to implement the terms of the NPDES permit. Examples of content included in this plan include:
(1) Illicit discharge detection and elimination (IDDE)
(2) Description of control measures
(3) Spill prevention and response
(4) Monitoring
(5) Good housekeeping
f. Every five years the City has to submit an application for the renewal of its NPDES Stormwater permit.
g. The application outlines priorities and measurable commitments that that City will do to prevent pollution from entering into our waterways.
h. The 2025 NPDES permit application is due in August 2025.
i. For more information visit: https://www.stormwaterhawaii.com/ms4-npdes-permit/
j. At the end of the presentation there was a discussion about recommendations for the City’s 2025 NPDES permit application.
k. A motion was voted on and approved to support recommendations:
The Kailua Neighborhood Board submits the following recommendations to the 2025 MS4 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Stormwater Permit Application: 1) Increase inspections from 2.6% of the system to 10% of the system annually; 2) Provide all newly completed reports to the City concerning storm drains and associated water quality to the City Neighborhood Board Commission; 3) Increase the frequency of the hazardous waste drop-off service from once every two months to once per month.

Details:
Issue: The rate of inspections of storm infrastructure stated in the permit is inadequate. The permit only requires inspection of 190,000 LF (~ 36 miles) of culverts per year for the buildup of debris and inspection of any potential structural failures. The language of the permit does not prevent the re-inspection of the same portions of the system every year. As the total system now is estimated to be 1,374 miles, 190,000 feet represents only 2.6% of the system, requiring at least 38 years to inspect the entire system. Due to the age of much of the stormwater infrastructure and the increased incidence of structural failures in our watershed during the past 5 years, we feel it would be appropriate to increase the annual inspection rate to 10-percent of all stormwater infrastructures.
Recommendation: At a minimum the City shall inspect 10-percent of the total length of the storm drain lines, channels, and conduits (134 miles) annually, with a minimum of 1/3 maintained, cleaned, or repaired as appropriate.

Issue: The Kailua community has strived for many years to work with the City and keep up-to-date on issues regarding impacts to the water quality of public waters from the storm drain system. We applaud the City’s stormwater educational outreach program and stated intent to make decisions based upon sound engineering and scientific data. However, in our reading of the City’s FY2024 annual stormwater report we find that there are numerous instances where the City appears to have made decisions based upon internal or consultant studies to which our community has not had access. This lack of transparency puts our community at a grave disadvantage when we review both the present draft NPDES permit and the various BMP projects that the City has and will propose in the future to control pollutant loads from the stormwater system into our public waters. To rectify this oversight in the future we propose adding the following condition to the Public Education section of the 2025 NPDES permit.
Recommendation: The City shall provide copies of any final report, within 30 days of the completion of said report, from stormwater related studies (internal or by consultants) to the City Neighborhood Board(s) in closest proximity to the watershed being studied.

Issue: The disposal of hazardous waste either directly into the storm drain system or on substrate that eventually washes into the storm drains is a problem. The City presently only provides one location available only once every two months for residents to safely dispose of household hazardous waste. It’s unreasonable to assume that everyone is going to coordinate their schedules for cleaning the garage (or under the kitchen sink) to this once-every-two-month schedule. Information reported in the 2024 Annual Report shows that 1,160 residents went to the effort of making appointments (as required), but only 949 showed up, what did the other 211 residents do with their hazardous waste? How many didn’t even bother to make appointments? An average of 150 residents showed up and dropped off about 500 gallons per day for each of the 6 days the event was open, or about 20 per hour. Language in the 2025 permit should be included to say:
Recommendation: The City shall increase the incidence of household hazardous waste disposal opportunities from its present interval of once every two months to once every month. No reservations shall be required by homeowners for the use of this service.

3. David Pound, a resident of the Kalaheo Hillside, expressed concerns on behalf of his community and neighbors about the recent grubbing and grating performed as soil samples are collected to assess the integrity of the soil for a potential housing development by DHHL. He has been in touch with residents who expressed concerns about stormwater runoff, erosion, and the resulting pollution of the water in the Oneawa canal should there be a major stormwater event. They feel that the current mitigation efforts of socks are inadequate and are requesting that more be done to prevent runoff down slope. Mr. Pound showed video footage taken on a cell phone of a heavy stream of water rushing down through a city owned channel that had become clogged with green waste. There have been complaints that these areas have not been cleaned or maintained. Residents also noted that their homes have shifted because of shifting soil resulting in the foundations of their homes being cracked.

To view agenda and minutes, visit our board website.

Event shows physical location; however, other options of participation may also include WebEx and phone.  If available, instructions for WebEx and phone can be found at the top of the agenda.